Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Book Marketing Tips

You have written your book and it has been published. Next step is to properly market your book and get it into the hands of your customers. Proper marketing is the key to success. You can't depend fully on your publishing company to get your book marketed, even if that is part of their contract. The best way to know that your book is properly being marketed is to get out there and do it yourself.

This may come as a surprise, but book stores are not always the best source for selling your book. Of course, as an author, you want your book to be available in the book store as does every major author of a best seller. But in order for this success, your book needs to be marketed early on. Here are some tips to market your book.

Internet Radio

Internet radio is one great way to get your name out in the public. There are some Internet radio channels that are geared specifically toward authors who are trying to market their books. They conduct interviews of new authors. Internet radio can easily broadcast your book especially if you are able to book yourself in a station that has lots of audience. Just remember that when you are discussing your book, you should be able to relate to the audience real-life situations like love, family, and relationships, among others.

Local Public Libraries

Another venue would be your local public libraries. Call the library and schedule to do a talk. Of course, this won't be a paying venue, but they will allow you to sell your book with a small percentage of sales going back into the library. This is a good way to help support your community as well. Local public libraries often favor those authors who self-published their books compared to those who use traditional publishing. Self-published authors are more easy to talk to. You also need to get your book reviewed in as many sources as possible as local public libraries prefer that. You will definitely get a great deal of publicity if you are able to make your book available to local public libraries. After all, this is where most of the readers go to to find books.

Create your own website

Another great idea is to create a website for your book. Your website is a 24/7 marketing tool. Keep it up to date and interesting. Basic websites can be set up for a small cost and sometimes even for free. Put up a Facebook and Twitter account for your book too. You can get fans and followers and let them see your posts of tidbits about your book. Take advantage of the convenience of promoting your book through the Internet! It's easier to promote your book nowadays with this tool.

Book Signing

Start contacting book stores and inquire about holding a book signing. Book signing can be one of the best ways to market your book since the readers will meet the author. They will get to know the real person behind the story. Tell them a story about yourself or your life and relate it to your book. They will be more interested to see what exactly you have written in your book. Remember, you are not only there to sell your book but also to sell yourself. So make sure you are well prepared for that event.

As you can see, there are so many inventive ways to get your book marketed on your own. It takes just a little imagination and a little legwork, but in the end, your book sales will prove how a little work goes a long way.